A very tiny yet highly acclaimed restaurant in Vancouver near Yaletown-Roundhouse SkyTrain station…read more We stumbled upon this place while walking right at opening, so we got first pick at one of the 3 tables for dine-in. Definitely try to go at opening or when it is not busy, as the dine-in experience is memorable - they place your order in a long wooden board to make it a beautiful spread. We got the Manoush'eh Special which has ground beef, pomegranate, etc and Sham Style which is shaped like a boat. We also tried the yogurt drink which pairs well with the dishes. The only con is that this place does not have free water, but it is no problem to have our own water bottles supplementing the meal. We also got the lentil soup which is pretty good. Definitely sufficient to share one to try, but the Manoush'eh outshines the rest of the items. I loved the quality and texture of the Manoush'eh and just the breads in general. It is a lot of food for 2 people so if you want a snack, you can definitely just share 1. Some people go here for the wraps too. Overall, an affordable restaurant with good food. We got the most expensive items and it was less than 50 CAD all-in, but a lot of the items are around the 10 CAD mark.

we came here near closing, so i'm assuming maybe it wasn't at its best, and i honestly feel kinda…read moreguilty writing this review. but i have to be honest about our experience. the food tasted really bland overall, especially the lahm bi ajeen. it didn't taste well seasoned at all and honestly tasted nothing like the versions i've had before. coming from LA, i feel like i've had a lot of really flavorful middle eastern food, so maybe my standards are higher. usually lahm bi ajeen has this rich savory flavor with warm spices, slight acidity, juicy meat, and a crispy thin crust that almost has a little char to it. this one felt flat flavor wise and the crust wasn't crispy or well baked. it lacked that depth and spice that makes the dish so addictive. maybe we just came at a bad time, but overall it was disappointing for us.

Food is good here, but service leaves something to be desired. Overall the mezze and kabobs are…read moregood (although lamb kibbeh nayeh and lamb burger see a bit weird); beef is better in my opinion We were a party of 19 and had ordered 8 mezze and they gave his 1 bread basket of 4 pitas and it took several minutes for the next bread basket to come out. Then they told us they had run out and would serve us Costco pita. Upon leaving we saw people with Lebanese pita. A group spending 1600 getting shafted on pita. Not cool and super cheap. Service is slow here as they are understaffed.

Amazing amazing place. Beautiful setting right in coal harbour, next to Stanley park, with…read moreexcellent, patient, warm wait staff and lovely jazz music playing the whole night. My wife and I came here for our anniversary dinner and we were delighted. We ordered the Chefs Special Sampler for 2 - basically giving us a sampler of everything on the menu for $90 per person. We were really really full and couldn't finish it all. Highlights: - Chickpea Fetteh: warm delightful mixture of ground meat, chickpea sauce, with soaked pita at the bottom and crispy stuff in it. It just explodes with flavour and texture. - dip sampler: the hummus and eggplant mutabbah were really good but that pocket pita bread was out of this world good. Even the tabbouleh was good and my wife normally hates that. - the lamb tartare was AMAZING. It was kneaded so soft that it was practically a paste. When you combine it with the nuts and red spicy sauce and eat it with bread the combo is winning. - grilled Kibbeh and regular kibbeh - both really delightful - the grilled meat plate was great. In particular the chicken with the garlic tahini was really flavourful. The kabob mushrooms and peppers on top of smoked baba ganoush was soo good. Loved the smoke flavour. They finished by serving us baklava sampler which was all really good. From start to finish this is an experience for the ages.

We ordered a bunch of dishes to share…read more Lunch Plate Chicken: Grilled Mount Lehman chicken breast marinated in paprika, thyme, lemon [GF] Lunch Plate Lamb: lamb skewer. Grilled to perfection. [GF] Lunch Plate Prawns: Grilled to perfection with a spicy marinate Mjadra: Organic green lentils and rice with onions [VE+GF] Najib's Special: Crispy cauliflower tossed with lemon and sea salt, served with tahini. [VE+GF] Falafel Served with hummus, house salad, pickled cabbage, and organic brown rice, as well as pita, tahini, tzatziki, and hot sauce The shrimp were perfectly cooked. The cauliflower was delicious. The lamb skewers was a touch gamey for me. All of the sauces and dips were tasty, but the tzatziki was especially a favorite.

Loved the ambiance at this Nuba in Gastown. Definitely an authentic vibe going on here. We were…read morehere for lunch, so I don't know what the vibe is like in the evenings. It would have been nice to have some Arabic or oriental music playing in the background. Maybe also some rose saboun in the bathroom would have been nice!! (Ok I'm overdoing it...just sharing my two cents!) Overall food was good, but I think service could be improved. We ordered the cold mezze sampler platter for 3, and we were a party of 4 adults. The portion was good and everything was delicious. I'm GF, and they serve the dips with lettuce for free (or you can order a side of cucumbers for a small charge). The presentation was lovely. The only thing I didn't like was after a while all of the dips just get mushed together and you kinda don't know what you're eating anymore...Also we all loved the jalapeno hummus the most. We asked for arak and it wasn't served the right way...Our server forgot to bring an extra empty glass so that we can mix the arak with water (in the proportional way that we'd like). I asked for an empty glass for mixing in addition to another drinking glass because mine was broken (crack was big and the glass should be chucked out). Server forgot to get an empty mixing glass. We ordered a taouk pita wrap, but we got served a taouk platter instead. Anyhow she just wasn't very attentive. The mixed grill mezze platter was mostly yummy except for the kafta. All of us at the table couldn't have more than a bite of it. The meat was undercooked, and the taste of the lamb was too strong and off. Definitely didn't taste like the kafta we know. The chicken and the cauliflower were delicious. I'd be tempted to try Nuba at another location and sample other things off their menu. Happy eating!!

I believe Saba Foods is Vancouver's first Yemeni restaurant, which is why I was soo excited to try…read morethis place! We went to their new location on Granville st. Their space is pretty big and can easily accomodate a big group. Most of their items are also family-style shareables, making it a perfect place to go in groups! We started the meal with their special Yemeni coffee, it was so different! It had a light caramel colour, wasn't too sweet but more on the acidic side. It was presented in a gold tray with their traditional Yemeni coffee kettle and dates. For starters we got their Yemeni bread (super soft and HUGE) with hummus and a fava bean dip. Both were pretty good! For mains, I got their spicy beef with hummus and their Yemeni bread. The beef was cooked very well and was certainly flavourful. My partner got their falafel platter with bread and salad. The falafels were so crispy! Last for dessert we got their khunafa, LOVED IT! Reminded me of home. Their service was very nice, they took the time to explain everything to us. I would definitely come again but maybe in a bigger group so I can get their mandi or other big shareables!

I came here to try Yemeni food for the first time and I really liked my experience! The waitress…read morewas friendly and checked in on our table often. The interior of the restaurant was also very nicely decorated. I do think Saba Foods is fancier than other places I've been to while exploring new cuisines and I personally prefer a more casual dining experience. As for the food, the portion sizes were very generous (though I did see other diners ordering individually). I shared the haneeth and saltah with a friend as well as got the kunafa and bint al sahen for dessert. The lamb was very tender and fell off the bone and the saltah came in a bubbling pot. I think the presentation of each dish was beautiful and was representative of its quality. My favourite dish was definitely the haneeth; it had a good combination of meat, rice, and vegetables. My reason for the missing star would be price point (total came around to $55 per person) as well as flavour as I'm used to having very flavorful dishes from other cuisines. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone who hasn't tried Yemeni food before though!

I've wanted to try this for so long but the place is quite secluded. This is my first time trying…read moregeorgian/armenian food. First, the lamajoun is so good. It's perfectly seasoned and reminds me of pizza except with thinner crust and softer bread. I love how thin it is. The baklava isn't layered like the Turkish style ones but it's also good. I actually prefer this one since it's less sweet! The people there are friendly too :)

You'd never find it if you didn't know it was there, but maybe it's better that way because it…read moreremains a magical secret place with incredibly good Former USSR countries' dishes. It's in an industrial park, and the place has a tiny pastry area in the bottom and an upper dining room. You order in the cafe area, and the food is sent up via number system and dumb waiter (SO cool). Service was one person and two cooks, so it's not immediate, but it's all made fresh and you can taste it. My Russian friend advised me on what to get, so we went with Khinkali and Khachapuri (sans meat). We also got what is on the menu as "jingle bread" and a beef kabob wrap. I had to get some kvass and pickles, too. I would get the dumplings, wrap, and kvass again in a second. Not that everything wasn't delicious, but my stomach is only so big and I need to try everything else on the menu. Khinkali is effectively a gigantic soup dumpling (HIGHLY recommend, but don't eat the stem!), and the meat in the beef kabob was similarly spiced. I fell in love with the lavash bread - it wasn't like anything I'd ever had. It was light, flaky, and I didn't feel overloaded with bread eating it like I do with most wraps. Kvass is slightly alcoholic, and it's technically a cereal based fermented drink, so it tastes a carby. It's a bit far for me to go with any regularity, but if I'm up around the airport, I will definitely keep it on my list of places to recommend and re-visit.

We wandered in here while exploring Vancouver and I'm so glad we did. One of the best Indian dining…read moreexperiences I've ever had. Inside the vibe is very cozy, with warm lighting and welcoming staff. They offered us chai tea samples while we waited to be seated. The food was incredibly flavorful, and the menu has a large variety of small dishes you can mix and match, so you're able to try a good amount of different foods. Overall a very delicious meal.

The atmosphere- dimmed orange lighting, exotic wooden interiors, and the soul-stirring sound of…read morelive music- immediately transported us to a cozy oriental cave. We were greeted with a warm embrace and a comforting welcome drink of chai tea paired with delicious finger foods. ​The Dine-Out menu was impressively extensive. While we initially struggled to choose just one salad, one soup, one cold mezze, and three mains, we were thrilled to learn it functioned like a Mediterranean All You Can Eat--allowing us to order more dishes as we went. We felt like kids in a candy store, eager to explore the vibrant, exotic flavours. The mango-infused dishes were a standout! ​The service was impeccable. One server even followed us outside just to hand us cardamom cookies for the road. Many restaurants treat Dine Out as a budget-set menu, but East is East used it to truly showcase their best work. We left with new favorites and a plan to return very soon.

Really enjoyed our time here! I have been wanting to try this place for awhile and it was the…read moreperfect spot to bring friends to! All the staff were SUPER friendly as they explained everything well, made sure we had everything we needed and even brought over a sample of the mocktail to try at the end. We got the feast for two and added on two plates for the four of us and there was a lot of food! It was great for us to all get to try all the different dishes. We really enjoyed it!

The beet dip and cauliflower are always my favorite. They are both so flavorful and tasty. The beet…read moredip has a bit of an acidic bite to it. The cauliflower is slightly sweet and acidic due to the molasses. The pita was also really good, especially with the dip. I thought it would be too dry for my liking, but it wasn't.

Very huge portion taste fresh! I think it could be for two people. The price is very reasonable…read more Mohammed, one of the staff, is very friendly. Even though the place looks busy, he goes around and offered tea.

We had dinner here on our first day in Vancouver before boarding our Alaska cruise, and it was a…read morefantastic way to kick off the trip! The food was genuinely delicious. The seasoning was spot-on, and the meats were perfectly cooked: juicy, flavorful, and satisfying. We especially loved the warm sweet mint tea that a staff member brought around; it was so refreshing and calming after a long travel day. The only downside was the salad dressing. It was overwhelmingly sour and far too heavy, to the point where we couldn't eat the salad at all. Such a shame, as we were really looking forward to the greens! The setup is counter-service style: you order at the counter and then pick up your food and drinks. It's casual and efficient. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal and will definitely be back whenever we visit Vancouver again. Highly recommend!